China, ASEAN countries hope tourism will boost jobs and investment

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China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Thursday officially launched the China-ASEAN Year of Tourism, with the two sides vowing to enhance tourism cooperation.

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech in Manila where he is on a four-day visit.

Wang said China and ASEAN have been enjoying rapid economic development and people's livelihood has greatly improved, adding that a mass tourism era has come.

"China and ASEAN are close friendly neighbors. We have been each other's largest destinations of overseas visits and largest sources of overseas visitors," he pointed out.

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang speaks at the opening ceremony of the China-ASEAN tourism cooperation year in Manila on March 16, 2017. /Xinhua Photo

The Chinese official noted that tourism cooperation between the two sides enjoys bright prospect, vowing China will work with ASEAN countries to take the China-ASEAN Year of Tourism as an opportunity to further upgrade the industry.

"We need to build more platforms for tourism cooperation to translate the consensus of our leaders into more outcomes of practical cooperation," Wang said.

Wanda Teo, tourism secretary of the Philippines which holds the rotating chair of the ASEAN, said connectivity with the ASEAN bloc has improved gradually in past years.

"We celebrate today the tourism cooperation year between China and ASEAN, we hope tourism organizations of the two sides strengthen their cooperation, which will in turn bring more job opportunities and investments with it," she said.

Tourism has become a pillar of China's national economy. /CFP Photo

China has become the world’s largest outbound tourism market and the world’s fourth largest tourist destination, according to China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) during a press conference on December 2016.

In 2016, China’s total tourism revenue reached 3.9 trillion yuan, and tourists took 4.44 billion domestic trips, with 122 million trips abroad.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte respectively sent their congratulatory messages for the event.

(With inputs from Xinhua)

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